Welcome to the American Go Association

Starting today, “The Surrounding Game” (2017) is now available worldwide on digital streaming, DVD and Blu-ray. The award-winning documentary tells the story of go, from the four arts of ancient China to modern-day international competition, to the growth of the game in the West.

“I am so proud of everyone who worked on this project and brought their energy, their creativity, and their passion to it” says director Will Lockhart, “and we are all so excited to be able to finally offer the film for home use!”

In addition to the main feature, the filmmakers are releasing six never-before-seen deleted scenes and interviews. “This is some of our favorite material that didn’t quite make the final cut, and we think you’re gonna like it!” says Lockhart. The extras are included on the new DVD and Blu-ray discs, and are also available separately on digital download and streaming.

To meet the demand of an international audience, the film includes subtitle options in ten languages and counting. “We were blown away by all the requests we received from around the globe for translations” reports producer Cole Pruitt. “On the discs there are subtitles available in English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian – and Italian and Portuguese will be available on streaming as well. We want Go players around the globe to be able to use this film as a new way to spread the game, as we have seen firsthand its ability to connect with people outside of the gaming community.”

For now the movie is only available on the film’s official website, but the team reports that it will debut on additional platforms – including iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play – next month.

The premise of Netflix’s new sci-fi show Altered Carbon is simple: After 250 years of suspended animation a prisoner is returned to the world with exactly one chance to save his life – he must solve a “mind-bending” murder. And, oh, by the way, his consciousness has been digitized, downloaded and stored in the “cortical stacks” implanted in the spine of his new body.

AC‘s central protagonist, Takeshi Kovacs, is of Japanese descent and sometimes plays go. In a flashback during Nora Inu (#7 – between the 40th and 42nd minute) Kovacs plays go with his sister as they talk. The ‘board’ presented here is a roll-up, either vinyl/cloth (or the futuristic equivalent), though the go-ke appear to be chestnut. The game in progress presented, however, appears believable. Toward the end of Rage in Heaven (#9) a goban is featured on camera twice; it appears this is a “set piece,” although a character picks up and plays with a stone. The same table goban in Rage in Heaven appears at the beginning of season 1′s final episode, The Killers (#10.)

The future Altered Carbon depicts is less than optimistic; think the bluesy, morose zeitgeist of Blade Runner, as opposed to the love letter to humanity that was Interstellar. Altered Carbon is based on the Richard Morgan novel of the same name, his first book in the Takeshi Kovacs cyberpunk trilogy.

The 2018 New York Go Expo will take place this weekend, February 17-18 in Manhattan at the China Institute (40 Rector St, 2FL, New York).

The Go Expo is aimed both at go players and the general public. Aside from the invited team tournament, the Expo will emphasize creativity and collaboration, “especially when go is tied seamlessly with education,” says organizer Stephanie Yin. “Our goal is to pair all interested attendees in a simultaneous game with a strong go player.”

The Expo is free to the general public. A repertoire of events revolving around go will be held, from beginner to advanced, and players of all ages are encouraged to attend. “We’d like to see our participants learn, share, and advance in and outside of go,” says Yin.

Besides the pro activities and other go-related activities, the first Dreamworks School Invitational will take place at the Expo. Mrs. Liao is sponsoring this tournament and wishes to provide an opportunity for the younger generation for youth players in New York to meet current students in esteemed universities such as in the Ivy League Schools. She wishes that participants can learn, share experience, and improve, in and outside of Go. She also encourages go to be introduced into children’s studies.

Teams have been invited from universities including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Brown, Cornell, Columbia, the University of Chicago, the University of Toronto, as well as the American Collegiate Go Association, and the New York Institute of Go, which will also field a NYIG Wildcard team.

The pair recently followed that up with a supporting video for the song, produced and animated by Yunfan.

Alpha Go explores a future robotic world, devoid of humans. It is both an elegy and tribute to Ke Jie’s defeat by the AlphaGo AI. As such it is not a surprise to see the many go references in the video.